Missing jackplate

ricosound · Post by **ricosound** » Fri Nov 11, 2005 5:37 am

http://cgi.ebay.com/EARLY-VINTAGE-1980-RICKENBACKER-4003SB-STEREO-BASS-NR_W0QQitemZ7364783063QQcategoryZ4713QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

So what would posses someone to trim away the serial number unless it's been HOT at some point in its life. This could be the basis for a nice vintage conversion, but what the hell is it worth without a serial number authenticating it as a Ric in the first place? Were there ever any copies being made by this time, with the split guard and all? I'm sure its just a Ric with a dubious past. Any discussion about this one, and what about a replacement jack plate?

henny · Post by **henny** » Fri Nov 11, 2005 5:46 am

It's an SB, interesting - ancestor of the V63.

henny · Post by **henny** » Fri Nov 11, 2005 5:48 am

Seems the logical thing to do if you're a thief, I guess.

bob_the_bass · Post by **bob_the_bass** » Fri Nov 11, 2005 5:50 am

Ouch !!

rickfan60 · Post by **rickfan60** » Fri Nov 11, 2005 5:59 am

Notice the two-piece neck and the narrow headstock wings? This is a good example of how the early 4003s were built very much like 4001s. The Grovers are a nice touch and appear to be original.

ricosound · Post by **ricosound** » Fri Nov 11, 2005 6:04 am

I hate to ask, but does anyone have the appropriate replacement jack plate and other misc bits to sell to a trusted forumite if I want to save her? Is an "XX" replacement available?

rickfan60 · Post by **rickfan60** » Fri Nov 11, 2005 6:06 am

RIC used to replace jackplates on an exchange basis like TRCs. If they still do that, maybe there is enough of this one left to get a replacement. I believe RIC uses a different number scheme for replacments that does not reflect the year/month the instrument was made.

ricosound · Post by **ricosound** » Fri Nov 11, 2005 6:06 am

...also, interesting two piece neck blank.

morrow · Post by **morrow** » Fri Nov 11, 2005 7:04 am

It must have been hot at some point.

Other than that she looks like a nice early one.

ricosound · Post by **ricosound** » Fri Nov 11, 2005 9:50 am

This brings up an interesting point for me. Since it's obvious that the seller or some previous owner has tried to conceal its serial identification, how culpable does that make a legitimate bidder as far as receiving suspected stolen goods? You sometimes wonder how some auction sellers come across this stuff, and is ebay a convenient clearing house for stolen goods. There certainly seems to be a lot of shifty characters out there.

atomic_punk · Post by **atomic_punk** » Fri Nov 11, 2005 11:37 am

I love the "broke the G string while tuning, so it was time to move on" comment. If I sold every bass when it needed new strings...

rickaddict · Post by **rickaddict** » Fri Nov 11, 2005 11:59 am

I really like these red fretboards!

Too bad its HOT HOT HOT!

rickfan60 · Post by **rickfan60** » Sat Nov 12, 2005 9:43 pm

I don't think this one is a B series. The picture of the B in the Smith book shows it to have a toaster, and a one piece guard. The picture also shows it to have a stripe on the headstock but none on the body suggesting a set neck. This one appears to be an S with Rick-O-Sound.

rickfan60 · Post by **rickfan60** » Sat Nov 12, 2005 9:52 pm

I just found some pics sent to me by Ed Dupont that show the details of his SB. Apparently the Smith book pic is not entirely accurate but the B seem to have a one piece guard and an toaster. This one is a bit confusing.

atomic_punk · Post by **atomic_punk** » Sat Nov 12, 2005 10:12 pm

Those do exist, Ted, with the dual outs, I had an Azureglo S from 81 with the 2 pc. guard and dual outs.